Everyone Has To Grow Up Sometime
by QueenRiley
Summary: Justin isn't a kid anymore. With Justin having stepped out of rangering life, it's easy for the others to forget that time passes for them all.


Rocky leaned against the closed door and took a few deep breaths. He'd managed to make it out of the room before the tears fell, just barely. She was such a sweet little girl and she deserved so much better than this. He'd worked with this family for weeks and he thought there had been real progress. He was rarely wrong and it was always the hardest when he was so wrong about a situation that a child ended up hurt. He was going to have to recommend temporary foster care. It was the worst part of his job. It was for the best, but the kids never understood, not at first, and he couldn't really blame them. It just might save her life, though, so he'd grit his teeth, plaster on his best reassuring smile, and cry his tears outside the closed doors of hospital hallways.

"Poor little bird. You been working with her long, Mr. DeSantos?" one of the nurses at the station asked. He jumped in surprise and wiped madly at his eyes, holding back the moisture by sheer force of will. He nodded, trying not to think what it meant that the nurses at Angel Grove General knew him by name.

"They always give you the hard cases, don't they?" she asked sympathetically. Rocky took a shuddering breath and stood up straight.

"They're all hard cases, Ma'am," he responded. She nodded at him knowingly and then smiled sympathetically, a fellow companion traveling the same road of compassion.

"I know just what you need." She wagged a finger at him and inclined her head towards a brightly lit hallway. He followed her past cheerful murals of Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street, and, his personal favourite, Babar. Beautiful paintings, but little comfort to the children who spent enough time here to really see them. They rounded a corner and Rocky found himself in Maternity, just outside the large nursery windows.

"New babies. Works every time. You stay until you feel better, Mr. DeSantos. These nurses understand." She left him to return to Pediatrics and Rocky finally smiled. She was right. There was nothing like a wrinkly newborn to cheer him up. There were only two in the room, with bassinets and warming tables and supplies laid out for a dozen more. One was screaming his head off at the nurses that were cleaning him up. The other was swaddled tightly, a content little burrito in a blue cap.

"Rocky?" a quiet voice asked from behind him and, for the second time that day, Rocky jumped in surprise. He turned to see a man with a familiar face that he couldn't quite place. He stared, dumbfounded, as a tousled brown bowl cut hiding blue eyes and freckles flashed before his eyes, a stark contrast to the close cropped dark hair and angular adult face in front of him.

"Justin?" he asked in surprise. Justin, now a grown man, nodded enthusiastically and wrapped him in a big bear hug. "I didn't know you were still in Angel Grove!" Rocky exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess we all kind of lost touch, huh? My wife and I moved back about a year ago. We wanted to raise our kids someplace we had history, so we came back here." Rocky felt as if his world was spinning, as if time was moving on and leaving him behind.

"Kids?" he asked, his voice wavering. Justin pointed to the content little burrito.

"My first!" Rocky's mind whirled and he could only stare as Justin clapped him on the back with hands far larger and stronger than he remembered.

* * *

Rocky slumped into his chair at the dinner table and idly pushed his roast beef around his plate. Adam was talking about the kids at the dojo and Rocky was trying really hard to listen, but he just wasn't in it. Not tonight.

"Rocky," Adam said. Rocky's head snapped up. "You weren't listening to me." Rocky blushed sheepishly and dropped his fork.

"I'm sorry. My head is somewhere else," he sighed, rubbing hard at his face hoping it would bring him back to reality.

"That same little girl you've been agonizing over for months now?" Adam asked around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Rocky nodded and Adam, knowing him as well as he did, reached across the table to squeeze his hand. It was enough. Rocky picked up his fork and began eating again, although he wasn't really tasting the food. Searching desperately for a happier topic, his brain stumbled upon the chance encounter he'd had earlier, the shimmer of light in the sea of darkness that his day had become.

"I ran into Justin at the hospital today," he said. Adam suddenly looked worried.

"I didn't know he was back in town. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, he's great. He just had his first child. A boy." Adam's fork dropped to the plate with a loud clatter.

"Justin is a DAD?!" Adam practically shouted. He was already reaching for his phone. The Former Ranger Phone Tree had been activated. Rocky felt a momentary stab of regret for what he had just unleashed on poor Justin.

* * *

It was almost a full week later when Rocky received a very frustrated text message demanding he meet Justin after work at an address he didn't recognize. A quick search showed it to be a modest house in the suburbs of Angel Grove, about two neighborhoods away from where Rocky's mother lived.

Knowing there was a newborn, Rocky didn't bother with the bell. He sent a text to Justin that he was standing outside and then quietly rapped on the door. Justin's still disturbingly grown up face appeared quickly and ushered him inside. He was led to a cluttered living room, disheveled and crowded but clean.

It was clear they hadn't been home for more than a few days. The suitcase from the hospital was still standing in the hallway. Laundry was half folded and piled in one of the chairs. A stack of tiny, doll-sized diapers, pulled straight out of the plastic bag, was stacked on the coffee table with a large plastic tub of wipes. There were boxes shoved by the door leading to the kitchen; boxes for a swing, a bouncer, more diapers, bottles and pacifiers and gift boxes teetering in an unstable tower. The swing was half assembled in one corner, the bouncer nowhere to be seen, and a large stroller was covered in tiny outfits of varying size. There were the telltale refill packages for a supposedly odor-neutralizing diaper pail and the wrapping of a microwavable bottle sterilizer. Rocky chuckled to himself. First time parents were his favourite.

"I don't know what we're going to do with all this stuff. So far all he does is eat, sleep, and poop."

"That's what most babies do. All you really need for the first little while is breastmilk or formula, some blankets, a few basic outfits, diapers, and a carseat. A safe place to sleep can be had just about anywhere with proper precautions. The rest is overkill." Justin glanced around the room.

"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out." Justin motioned for him to sit and Rocky did, also taking the bottle of water offered. They just stared at each other for a few minutes, Rocky unsure why he was there and waiting for Justin to tell him, Justin apparently too nervous or unsure to say anything.

"I don't know if I ever properly congratulated you at the hospital." Rocky finally broke the silence. Justin grimaced.

"You unleashed holy hell on me, Dude!" Justin finally blurted. "I guess you told Adam? Because he called Tanya. Then Tanya called Kat. Then Kat called Tommy. Tommy called TJ and Cassie, who then got ahold of Ashley who called Andros and Karone. Nobody has told Carlos yet, I think Ashley put a price on the head of anybody who did, which is good because that will be a whole different lecture and hopefully one my wife can head off at the pass. But after Karone found out, I started hearing from rangers I'd never even met! Apparently Karone was a ranger for awhile and her whole team called me to congratulate me, which at least was better than all the yelling I got from everybody else." Rocky blinked in surprise.

"I really didn't mean for all that. I just told Adam over dinner. We're happy for you!"

"Yeah, you guys are. Apparently everybody else thinks I'm too young to be having a kid. I'm 27 for crying out loud!" Justin was getting loud. A soft, female voice from the back of the house shushed him. Rocky patted his knee.

"Y'know, if you're just operating at your normal volume while he's a newborn, he'll get used to the noise and sleep through it when he's older. Most newborns actually prefer the background noise they could hear in the womb. He'll sleep better."

"Really?" Justin asked hopefully. Rocky nodded.

"So I'm sorry you got the Ranger Phone Tree on your tail. I figured they'd be happy."

"Well, they were by the end of the phone calls. But man, that was a lot of people. This is why we didn't tell anybody at first. I just knew this would happen. You'd think I was still twelve. "

"It doesn't help that you were so young when you were a ranger. I mean, you're not the first to have a kid, but none of us have really seen you since you were a kid yourself. It's a little disconcerting at first." Rocky shrugged. Justin smirked.

"My Turbo team was at the wedding, but yeah, I guess the rest of you haven't seen me since I was twelve. Still. Time passes! It's alright. I got them all back. I managed to convince them I named him Storm Blaster." Rocky's mouth dropped.

"You didn't really… did you?" he sputtered. Justin burst into rolling laughter.

"Of course not! His name is Charles," a woman spoke from the entrance to the living room. Rocky immediately stood up and wiped his palms on his pants before offering his hand.

"I'm Rocky. I knew Justin way back when we were… um… younger. Together. A long time ago."

"It's okay, Rocky. I know he was a Power Ranger. I'm Silvy," she extended her hand and smiled easily at him. Rocky sighed in relief. It was so much easier shacking up with another former ranger. He was never sure who he could and could not tell about his past. With Adam, he never had to worry about it.

A pitiful wail rose from the back of the house. Silvy shut her eyes in exasperation and Justin immediately jumped up.

"My turn, okay?" he said. He pushed her gently toward the couch while he went and retrieved the baby, cradling him as he brought him back. Rocky immediately held out his arms and made grabby hands.

"May I?" he asked. Justin handed over the baby and collapsed on the couch with his wife.

"Good luck," she mumbled, her eyes sliding shut as she leaned heavily into Justin. He kissed the top of her head. Rocky shifted the baby up to rest on his shoulder and began to bounce him gently, rubbing his back all the while. The newborn settled immediately, bright blue eyes blinking in happy confusion before his breathing evened out and he fell asleep.

"You're not allowed to leave this house," Silvy exhaled in shock. Rocky laughed heartily, and the baby slept on.

* * *

They didn't wait long. Rocky knew somebody would let something slip to Carlos sooner or later, although he wasn't entirely sure why Carlos wasn't allowed to know. He and Justin schemed and planned and figured the best way to tell him would be over video conference. If he could see the baby, maybe he'd be okay with it. They planned a nice dinner at Rocky and Adam's place in the hopes that Adam could help smooth over the news. He and Carlos had been close after all, once upon a time, even if they had all drifted apart lately. Maybe they could fix that. Babies had a way of bringing people together.

Justin and Silvy showed up just as Rocky was putting the chicken in the oven. Adam ushered them in and fretted over the carseat. Rocky just washed his hands and swooped right in, scooping little Charlie from his harness and dancing him around.

"Should we call now or after dinner?" Justin asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Silvy had immediately plopped down into the recliner by the fireplace. Justin was a ball of energy and wouldn't sit.

"We can call now. Dinner's going to be an hour or so." Adam pulled up his laptop and set it up on the coffee table. He tried not to smile as Rocky danced around the room, oblivious to everything around him, with a baby in his arms. It wouldn't do to dwell.

He sent a text to Carlos and within minutes was beaming at his old friend over the laptop. It had been years since they'd seen each other, but Carlos barely looked older than their rangering days. Rocky continued to dance around the room, talking softly to the baby and ignoring everybody else, while Justin and Silvy crowded on either side of Adam.

"Silvy! Justin! How are you guys? I haven't seen you since the wedding!" Carlos exclaimed. They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.

"Carlos, we have something important to tell you and we hope you'll be very happy for us." Justin took a deep breath and opened his mouth to start talking about Charlie when the baby decided to introduce himself. A loud wail broke free and everybody looked up in surprise.

"What's that? What's going on?" Carlos asked. He didn't have the benefit of seeing the baby screaming in Rocky's arms.

"That's my son." Justin sighed as Silvy got up to go tend to her baby. Rocky handed him over and took her seat on the couch instead.

"Hi, Carlos!" he exclaimed. Carlos stared blankly.

"Your son? A kid? But you're so… and she's so… and you're kids! That's Silvy! YOU GOT SILVY PREGNANT? What were you thinking?" Carlos yelled.

"He's a month old now. And we're not that young. I'm 27. She's 25. We're plenty old enough." Justin began to justify their choice. Carlos glared and began ranting about honor and responsibility, eventually sliding into respect for 'his' little girl and what he planned to do to Justin.

"WE PLANNED THIS!" Silvy finally yelled, sliding back into the view of the camera and handing the baby back to Rocky. Carlos stopped talking when she glared. Adam joined Rocky behind the couch to watch this unfold.

"But you're just a kid!" Carlos sputtered. Silvy held up a finger.

"We have been married for three years now. We planned him and he is very much wanted. And you, Mister, do not get to lecture me on what I do with my own life!" That cowed Carlos into submission.

"Where's Ashley?" Justin asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"She's out of town this week. Some big fashion tv show asked her to guest judge. She's going to flip when I tell her." Carlos shook his head and Justin and Silvy both blushed and shrugged a bit. They didn't have the heart to tell him she already knew.

"Besides, he's the cutest baby!" Rocky cried, shifting Charlie around to face the camera before handing him back to Silvy. He yawned as if on cue and Carlos turned into a puddle of goo.

"Oh look at his chubby little cheeks! Are his eyes blue? The screen is dark, it's hard to tell. And he has no hair!" That was it. That was all it took. Carlos accepted it, gushed over the baby, and they spoke about old times for awhile. Rocky and Adam left them to it, drifting quietly into the kitchen to finish making dinner.


End file.
